10 Egyptian soldiers killed in Sinai roadside bombings

Cairo: Ten Egyptian soldiers were killed in two roadside bombings as they clashed with Daesh militants in the Sinai Peninsula, the military said on Thursday.

Fifteen militants were also killed in the fighting, the military said in a statement, without saying when the incidents took place.

The military said the clashes broke out when soldiers raided “an extremely dangerous” terrorist hideout.

Daesh said in a statement on Wednesday afternoon that it blew up two army vehicles during clashes south of the Sinai city of Al Arish.

The terrorists have killed hundreds of soldiers and policemen since the army overthrew Islamist president Mohammad Mursi in 2013 and cracked down on his supporters.

The attacks have mostly been confined to Sinai, which borders Israel and the Palestinian Gaza Strip, but the terrorists have also struck elsewhere.

In October 2015, the group claimed responsibility for bombing a Russian airliner carrying holidaymakers from a south Sinai resort, killing all 224 people on board.